To DJIA or Not?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is widely regarded as the barometer of blue chip stocks and becoming a part of the DJIA is a validation for any publicly listed company. But, Amazon, which has been public for nearly 20 years and has forced a number of...
Asset Allocation in a Single Fund
By Brian O'Connell, US News & World Report Contributor | April 24, 2017 Are so-called single-asset allocation plans a better deal than going out and building your own retirement asset allocation program out of individual funds? Some reputable financial industry...
Mega Successes or Mega Flops?
Earlier this week, Verizon Communications reported its Q1 2017 results that missed Wall Street estimates and said it lost subscribers who pay a monthly bill despite its launch of unlimited data plans. Already in the middle of a mega merger with Yahoo, the company...
VIX Points to Fear or Fake News?
While most investors follow the movement of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, a little know indicator called the VIX has been getting a lot of attention lately. The VIX or the volatility index, also known as the fear index, measures...
Game over for cable and satellite?
In 2008, US cable subscribers had 129 channels to choose from, and they watched an average of 17 channels in a given week. Five years later, they had 189 channels, and were still watching only 17 channels. With cable bills at ~$125 per month, simple math says...
The Credibility Gap
Most concur that the US economy, that has experienced slow and steady growth since the financial crisis, will now require new catalysts to move further ahead. And financial markets appear to be on the verge of pivoting from being economic data and earnings growth...
Shift to Bonds Now?
With the recent hike in interest rates, bonds yields have continued to rise. The 10 year treasury yield hit 2.5% last week and surpassed the 2% dividend yield of the S&P 500. While hike in interest rates and rising bond yields suggest a strengthening of the...
Future of Retail Banking
Despite the rising popularity of online and mobile banking, you can find large banks still having a brick and mortar presence. In big cities, you would find these bank branches clustered as close together as Starbucks coffee shops. In New York, there are 20 bank...
Problems at Cult Mansion
In every decade, there are handful of stocks that get a cult following. The company’s earnings, strategy and vision do not support the high valuations and stock prices but yet, these stocks continue to defy gravity. In this report, we examine three companies that had...